Re: m4_version_compare and new version numbering

[Jim Meyering]

Eric Blake <address@hidden> wrote:

> According to Jim Meyering on 11/2/2007 1:01 PM:
>>> Also, why is the current version something like 2.61a-248-dc51?
>>> That compares wrongly in order with 2.61b which is what post 2.61a
>>> CVS versions had.
>>
>> Because these versions are post-2.61a, and pre-2.61b :-)
>
> Hmm.  Maybe it's time to rewrite m4_version_compare to treat `-' the same
> as `.' when it occurs in the original version strings.  Currently,
> m4_version_unletter (a key component in AC_PREREQ) interprets the - in the
> string as a subtraction, with the following results:

An alternative is to change the format of the version string, like
git does.  s/-/./g.  They also prepend an alpha ('g') to the SHA1 part.